Tue, 06 Jan 2009

Vikings' bleeding-edge tech came from Afghanistan

Interesting, but not all that surprising, given the range of the trade routes in the so-called "Dark Ages".

Boffins at the UK's famous National Physical Laboratory (NPL) - birthplace of the Dambusters' bouncing bomb and perhaps the internet - say they have used an electron microscope to analyse Viking swords. In a surprise twist, it turns out that the old-time Scandinavian pests, many of whom moved to England to become our ancestors, actually imported their best steel from Afghanistan.

(link) [The Register]

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